With 6.3 seconds left Jae Crowder drained a 3-pointer from the corner to cap a thrilling night at Madison Square Garden and to give No. 11 Marquette a 79-77 win over Washington.

Those who were at the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday night were treated to a spectacular game between the Golden Eagles and the Huskies. With 12:20 remaining in the second half, Crowder hit a layup to cut the Washington lead to 52-50. The game remained within one-possession for the rest of the contest.

Crowder finished with 18 points and 6 rebounds, but it was once again Darius Johnson-Odom leading the way for Marquette. The senior guard poured in 23 points and upped his scoring average to 19.9 ppg in the process.

Despite Washington falling to 4-3, Marquette’s head coach Buzz Williams had high praise for his opponent after the win.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

“They’re really good,” said Williams. “Really, really, really, really good. They’re the 10th-fastest team in the country. They have six guys that average nine points or more. They have four future NBA draft picks.”

With back-to-back wins over No. 14 Wisconsin and Washington, Marquette is on the verge of cracking the top-10. Its success means another top-heavy Big East with Marquette competing with No. 3 Syracuse, No. 5 Louisville and No. 9 Connecticut for the conference crown.

In what was a typical Big East battle, the entire second half was played with no team leading by more than five points. Marquette’s ability to get to the line was the difference, though, as the Golden Eagles attempted 16 more free throws than the Orange. After Johnson-Odom’s jumper, Marquette hit its final four free throws to seal the deal and prevail.

Just before Johnson-Odom’s shot, Syracuse had a chance to take the lead, but Dion Waiters’ inbound pass to Scoop Jardine was out of the junior guard’s and forced a backcourt violation.

Although Marquette went just 9-9 in conference, it is now just two wins from the Final Four.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Afterward, Marquette’s Buzz Williams praised his team of unheralded overachievers with a voice raspy from screaming throughout two close NCAA tournament games.

“You have four junior college guys up here,” Williams said, motioning to Johnson-Odom, Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder and himself. “We were trying to figure out if we could eat at McDonald’s or Burger King. We weren’t sure what Sweet 16 meant other than our 16th birthday.”

Awaiting Marquette in the Sweet 16 in Newark will be North Carolina. The two met in the 1977 NCAA title game, when Marquette won its only national title.